Sometimes serious. Sometimes humorous. Always unpredictable. By Dan Pimentel - Topics include coverage of general and business aviation, the airlines, life, health and happiness, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, and the generous community of aviators called #Avgeeks...they are my aviation family.I am currently available for magazine and corporate writing assignments - Email me here.

Volunteer Pilot Janet of Louisiana takes Madelineflying during a 2013 Women of Aviation event.Watch a video of their flight here.

By Victoria Neuville Zajko,U.S. Team Leader,Women Of Aviation Week

Annual airshows and fly-ins: these are places that feel like a second home to pilots. Meeting up with friends sharing the same passions and being surrounded by the sounds of the soaring airplanes you love is a feeling like no other. You have seen them at rock concerts and airshows alike: wristbands. More than a simple access pass, they signal the belonging to a unique and like-minded group.

During Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week, March 3-9th, 2014, girls and women across the world will receive a pink wristband when they travel to aviation facilities for their first introduction to general aviation. Their new pink wristband will remind them that the aviation industry is where they belong and will identify them among their peers as special.

It was 2011. I had moved to Maryland, knew few people, and even less pilots at my new home airport when I decided to organize my first Women Of Aviation Week event with the goal of introducing women to aviation,

In a matter of weeks, thanks to the community of pilots that rallied around this cause, I learned that I belonged. The airport was no longer a destination to fly to and leave from, it was a place to spend time with friends and make new ones. It opened up doors to camaraderie and opportunities that I could not have found otherwise. Thanks to this new network of people in my life, girls and women in the DC metro area now had a place where they too, could belong.

Margarita Rivera after her first solo. She caught the bugfor flying during a 2013 WOAW event

The feelings that Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week evokes are contagious. Numerous incentives for organizers and participants that go the extra mile making it easier for girls and women to embrace this new experience in their lives.

For example, the event organizer earning the most points will win $1,000 for flight training thanks to the members of the Institute for Women Of Aviation Worldwide. Chicago based all things aviation store, Aviation Universe is thanking event volunteers in their own special way. There will be a drawing for over $500 in Aviation Universe gift certificates.

A pilot’s first solo is a rite of passage to the pilot community. It is common for the entire airport community to celebrate each solo flight. Sennheiser Aviation Headsets applauds this feat by offering $1,500 for flight training to the first girl or woman to solo worldwide after discovering flight in a small aircraft during Women Of Aviation Week. Likewise, King Schools further supports this cause by offering a complete online Private Pilot training course to the first woman in the United States to solo.

Beyond the many monetary awards offered during Women Of Aviation Week, the real reward is growing your pilot community, one female at a time.

What’s more, flight schools and individual organizers that advertise their events on the Women Of Aviation Week website by February 2nd will have the pink wristbands sent to their event free of charge.

The time is now to join this growing grassroots initiative welcoming tens of thousands of girls to aviation facilities annually during Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week. You belong.

(SEBRING, FL) At the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo today, I was granted one of the most coveted demo flights on the field when the people from Van's allowed me to spend a few precious minutes aloft in their new factory-built certified RV-12 S-SLA to experience the world of LSA flying for the very first time.

I say coveted, because due to a mechanical issue, the company's demo plane was down on Friday of the show, which seriously jammed the demo flight schedule. This airplane is a very hot item here in Sebring, and everyone wanted to get a taste of what is shaping up to be - in my opinion - one of the most exciting new LSA models on the market right now.

Even with an overbooked demo schedule, room was made for me to give this airplane a quick flight around Central Florida. And without ever flying an airplane with a stick - and never having flown in any of Van's venerable RV models - I was sure this would be a great experience. And the RV-12 delivered everything I expected...and lots more.

After strapping in, the first surprise was the way the Rotax 912 ULS started. It was clear after about :02 seconds of cranking that this is not your grandfather's airplane engine...it started faster than any automobile engine I've seen. Push the button and with no drama, no levers to coax in and out and no hesitation, it just starts.

Winds at KSEF were quite gusty at flight time, estimated at about 12-20 knots. Taxi out was swift and uneventful...and the RV-12 feels stable on the gear. We were off the runway in a very short time, and at about 300' AGL, demo pilot Mitch Lock gave me the airplane. I mentioned something about never operating a control stick, and he just advised me to use a light touch and don't think about it. And in a matter of seconds, I had forgotten all about the stick, and began to really get into this flight.

There are two distinct features of this certified RV-12 that are immediately apparent. First, the visibility is incredible, reminding me a bit like a Bell 47 helicopter...with unrestricted views as far as the peripheral vision of the human eye allows. This airplane gives you a first-class view of the world as it slides by under your wings.

But the second thing that the first-time RV-12 pilot notices is the way this airplane handles. There is virtually NO slop in the rigging, it delivers all the good things you've ever heard about the legendary handling characteristics of the Van's line-up. You do not steer this airplane so much as wear it. Think about turning and it turns. I had only been "on the stick" for maybe 120 seconds, and already I was mastering the microscopic control adjustments needed for turning, climbing or descending. I have never experienced such intuitive handling in an airplane. Frankly, it was a little freaky...as if the airplane just knew what I wanted it to do. Chalk this up to fine engineering from a company that has developed a very pleasurable airplane that is a joy to fly.

Above Lake Jackson just west of the Expo, Lock let me crank in 45 degrees of bank in both directions, and holding the nose level in steep turns was a non-issue. Again...intuitive and predictable. He then demonstrated a stall and at around 40 KIAS, the left wing just barely dipped before the pilot simply released back pressure on the stick and the RV was flying again, with what appeared to be way less than 200' of altitude lost.

On the way back into Sebring, I easily brought the plane back down to 1,100' on the expo arrival, and Lock made a very smooth crosswind landing that looked effortless. One thing of note: I was watching the rudder pedals as he came over the numbers, and saw small adjustments made, no foot stomping needed to keep the RV-12 on centerline.

Airplanista Editor Dan Pimentel, left,and Van's demo pilot Mitch Lock

Back on the ground, I exited and was told there was a grin on my face. Of course there was! I had just flown what I predict will be one of the best selling S-LSA models in due time. The certified RV-12s that Synergy Air of Eugene, OR are building for Van's are selling, and they were taking orders for future delivery positions at the Expo.

This affordable and very attractive airplane has the performance numbers to really gain a following of new LSA buyers, as well as pilots like me who own larger legacy airplanes with much higher fuel burn. But the RV-12 really begins to pencil out when flown by flight schools as a serious alternative to the legacy fleet. With each student hour flown, money is saved on direct operating costs, and when schools fill their ramps with this airplane, we'll see more new pilots created when training costs go down.

The future is bright for this factory-built RV-12...it has to be, because GA needs the Light Sport sector to succeed in lowering costs in order to mint more pilots. Growth in the LSA market is coming...that is the message I heard from all vendors at the Expo. And this Van's model will add significantly to that growth. As I walk the show, exciting new possibilities abound, and optimism seems to be building. And nowhere on the field was optimism more apparent than at the Van's booth, where you could feel the buzz building before your very eyes.This is a model to watch.

The removable panel in World Aircraft's display modeldemonstrates some of the innovation found at the show

By Dan Pimentel,Airplanista Blog Editor

After a few hours of walking around the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo, I am convinced this is the place to be if Light Sport aircraft is even remotely on your radar screen.

This niche of our GA world is on full display here in Sebring, and it is like a giant shopping mall, only instead of Dog-on-a-Stick, they have a really impressive selection of LSAs to fill your hangar.

Something I did not expect: I knew that KSEF sits next to Sebring international Raceway, and assumed it was used for club sports car drivers to come wring out their 911s. But as we exited our rental car in the media lot nestled right up next to one of the track's high-speed turns, I was BLOWN AWAY to see Indy cars running some full-out practice laps. I was like "airplanes, RACE CARS, airplanes, RACE CARS!" So many shiny objects...

There is interesting hardware everywhere on the ramp here at Sebring. And in an evolving LSA world, one company that is keeping the sector's reputation for innovation alive is World Aircraft. Their President, Eric Giles was proud to point to the removable panel in his display airplane. Think giant kitchen drawer with a full array of glass avionics in it. To work on the panel, just pull it out like you are pulling out your kitchen drawer to grab a steak knife, remove a couple of 28-pin connectors, and set the entire panel on the seat, or relocate it to a test bench. Putting it back in is as easy as putting that drawer back in...pure genius.

Giles says the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo makes perfect sense to attend as a vendor. "Here," he said, "everyone is interested in Light Sport aircraft, and we make sales. For LSAs, Sebring is the show we always want to attend." Asked what he thought of any current trends for the LSA market, Giles said 2014 has produced a thick order book through June for the Paris, TN-based company, and that "2015 and 2016 should be really good growth years for LSAs."

In fact, Airplanista tried to ask that same question to other vendors at the Sebring show, but on two occasions, they were too busy to even answer. And in the trade show business, when you have no time to talk to the media, it's a great problem to have.

One last task lies ahead for the Airplanista crew here in Sebring. We are headed to the shore of Lake Jackson to dine on the deck overlooking the seaplanes to talk LSAs while listening to the Flying Musicians.

See? You really should have came to the show. Well...there is always next year ;)

One of the highlights of my first "Sebring" will beseeing the Van's Aircraft's certified S-LSA RV-12s

By Dan Pimentel,

Airplanista Blog Editor

As I write this, American Airlines flight 1386 has just blasted off from KDFW direct Orlando so I can go hang with all my #avgeek pals at the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo at the Sebring (FL) Regional Airport.

I ended up in Dallas after a two-day stop in Fresno to photograph the completely unbelievable fully-staged new production of Les Misérables being presented by my ad agency's long-time client, Fresno Grand Opera. That shoot went flawlessly, and once "in the can" I was able to start really getting excited about the Light Sport show. While not confirmed, I might be the only person at the show that had to go through Fresno to get to Sebring. But if that's what it takes...

Why am I so excited about attending this show for the first time? Simple...because the climate is perfect right now in our aviation world for Light Sport airplanes and the Sport Pilot Certificate to finally get a solid footing.

Everything is pointing to Light Sport...fuel costs, training costs, FAA medical regulations that just seem to be getting more challenging by the week. Sure, the missions flown by LSAs tend to lean heavily towards the recreational side of flying. They may not be all things to all pilots. But as we look towards the near and distant future of GA, there is a definate place for Light Sport, and each time the price of 100LL avgas goes up, the sector becomes that much more attractive.

So I will be reporting from the show and see what the vibe is down there. I will let the hard news guys break stories of each and every new product that is announced. My task is to talk to both LSA buyers and sellers and take the pulse of the sector. What are people talking about? What is important to everyone involved going forward?

I've been thinking a lot about what I expect to find at this show. For certain, there will be the latest models from the big names in Light Sport...makers like Van's, Cubcrafters and Flight Design. But around each corner will be surprises, new models featuring new innovations, more of the cool stuff that gets #avgeeks like me running from booth to booth. I fully expect to learn about new Light Sport designs that are just coming on the market. More great machines that cost less to fly and own...sexy and sleek, with glass panels and a reasonable price tag.

The highlight of this Sebring show for Airplanista will undoubtedly the new certified S-LSA RV-12s from Van's Aircraft. Readers of this blog know this exciting new factory-built airplane is made at my home field, and my enthusiasm for the RV-12 is off the charts. There is a VERY solid future brewing for this $123,000 entry from Van's, and the market is right for a well-engineered ship like this, coming from a maker with a strong, established reputation for quality.

If you had looked deep into turn one at any of the Central California speedways back in the very early 1980s on many summer Saturday nights, you might have seen a guy that looked a whole lot like Av8rdan. He would have been holding a worn Minolta camera and would have been standing so close to the apex of the turn, he'd be scaring the hell out of the ambulance drivers.

If it was Madera Speedway, it was the SMRA's offset super modifieds, and if it was Kings Speedway, it would be either the local yokels, or the World of Outlaws ripping the clay to shreds in winged sprint cars. Now of course you might be asking what this has to do with aviation? Well, absolutely nothing. But it has to do with yours truly, and I thought now would be a great time to connected the dots for some of my readers.

A recent email out of left field asked me if I was the same guy who used to shoot racing pictures at Kings Speedway in Hanford, California. I replied that yes, "CameraDan" as I was known in those days, and "Av8rdan" as I am known today were in fact the same person:

Along about 1978, I was working as a quasi-pit crew member for a guy who raced "super modifieds" at Madera, California's lightning quick one-third mile paved oval. One night, they asked me to being my camera and take a couple of pictures, so I did. I talked myself into the infield, and waltzed up to the edge of the track in the apex between turns one and two. I was about 10 feet from the left front tire of cars speeding by at maybe 100 mph. There, I shot several rolls of film, and the images I caught were the classic "stopped race car whizzing past the blurred background" shots. I got lucky, let's face it.

Everyone got so excited about these pics, they almost FORCED me to send them into a small paper called Western Racing News, so I did. Guess what? Yep, they printed a bunch of them, and in a heartbeat, my phone was ringing from the paper to shoot more. They even sent me a press pass to get into any track in the area - how cool was that?

A few of the published action images I shot fromHanford, CA's Kings Speedway.

One thing led to another, and soon that summer, I was sending in the photos with what I thought to just be nicely crafted cutlines to describe the scene. I have always had a way with words, and soon they started printing the descriptions as articles! By the end of that first summer and into the next year, I had secured press passes from every major West Coast racing paper, along with a couple of national publications such as National Speed Sport News and Circle Track Magazine. With all these passes in my worn old Lowe Pro bag, I could get into the infield of any track in the country:

I spent the next 10 years of my life as one of the West's more well-known racing photojournalists. I would shoot at night, race home to a improvised darkroom in a closet, and develop and print whole sets of the best shots from that night's crash and go. I'd then pound out a bunch of gibberish as copy, stuff it all into about 12 manilas and shoot it into the FedEx system. Back in the day, had I invested about $20,000 in a serious Nikon film system, the same long lenses the football shooters were using, and a bad-ass portable flash system, I could have become a well-known national figure in auto racing photography...I was that close to the top. But the foolish financial decisions of a twentysomething kept me in medium-quality equipment and I was never able to "break into" the big time.

Somewhere along the way, I lost my ambition to shoot auto racing. Maybe it was all the racers that owned me money, but in the mid 90s, airplanes replaced race cars in my soul, and I have never looked back. I could not be happier with my current career as ad agency owner, writer and photographer,and I still can somehow capture things in my lens to satisfy those who pay me well to do it. If you go here, you can glimpse a collection of images I have produced, just to get an idea of what Camera Dan version 2.0 is doing these days.

So where, you ask, are all those old shots of Everett Edlund, Steve Kinser, Rick Mears and all the other dudes I used to stop at 1/500th of a second? Sorry to say, those old negatives are stuffed into archival binder sleeves and stashed in boxes under my stairs. Way back when, I swore I would get a film scanner and convert them all to digital stills. But then I realized this: Who really wants to see Anthony Simone flipping over Wally Pankratz at Mesa Marin Speedway these days? IS there a reason to spend 1,000s of hours finding those grand old shots of "Slammin' Sammy Swindell, Jac "Wild Child" Haudenschild and Doug Wolfgang blasting three abreast into the dark monster (turn one) at the legendary Ascot Park Speedway in Gardena?

That was then, this is now. These days, I get excited when shooting an old Antonov AN-2, crawling all over the inside of a Pilatus PC-12, or getting in clean and tight on a perfectly-restored Wright Whirlwind at Oshkosh. Yes, the former CameraDan is alive and well, he's just hiding up in the forest in Oregon, about as far away from turn one as he can possibly get.

There is one thing about our GA community that never ceases to amaze me. This one single phenomenon happens all over the country, at FBOs from Maine to San Diego, Key West to Seattle. And each time it happens to me, it reaffirms that being a licensed pilot flying your own private aircraft is about as good as The American Dream gets. What I'm referring to is this:

A few years back, we flew the Katyliner on a business trip from Eugene to Fresno. It was a four-hour flight that relieved us from the grueling 12-hour grind by car - a savings of 66 percent. Even though Oakland Center casually told us while splitting the difference between Mt. Shasta and Mt. Ashland that some guy at our six, same altitude, same direction was going to overtake us (prompting an expedited climb), we made it unscathed to FAT and taxied to one of the two remaining airport FBOs at the time. I was parked next to a very large, very expensive, long-range business jet, and before I could even get the baggage door open, the Line Guy had the rental car alongside Katy with the a/c cranked up. He helped me unload, helped me put the cover on the plane, and made sure every need was take care of. We were treated with the same level of professionalism and respect as the people who came in before me in the Gulfstream, but we were flying a machine that cost about as much as one of the gold-plated cup holders on the G-V.

See, that's what GA is all about. It's not so much the machine you fly, but that you FLY. When wind forced over wings becomes lift and a craft takes flight with humans inside, it is a beautiful thing. But in our world, it really doesn't matter what shape the flying machine takes so long as it flies somewhere and delivers pilots and pax to their $100 burger, or in our case, business meetings and photo shoots.

I believe GA separates those who cannot fly from those who do, and for us lucky ones, we are in a very small brother/sisterhood. Yes, the Gulfstream driver has a ship that is a tad faster than my vintage Cherokee, and yes, it holds more souls and has a nice fancy Champagne cooler. But the advantages we enjoy by flying a private aircraft – any private aircraft – are still fantastic, and regardless of make and model, we can still avoid the headaches and hassles of flying the airlines when we fly our own bird into that small strip at the edge of town where we plan to make a buck. When a business flies their own aircraft, it earns a competitive advantage over those who make their people straddle the spokes on the airlines' "wheel of misfortune" as they try their luck at actually getting somewhere on time.

Sure, the airlines do get lots of people to their intended destinations every day. But personally, I get screwed around somehow on about 50 percent of commercial flights these days. Overbooking, cramped seats, and cranky gate agents who can't coordinate their stories when delays happen are just a few things that can trip up the airline flyer today. But even if they do manage to get you to Omaha for a meeting, you had to go LAX-ORD-JFK-MIA-FAT to get there. You have to stay in a hotel the night before the meeting and the night after too, in hopes of snagging a seat on a morning flight out. Three days to deliver you to a one-hour meeting to close the deal.

But with the Katyliner, I can manage a biztrip like this:

You wake up in Eugene, answer a fair amount of emails, pack the car and deliver the dog to the kennel on the way to the airport. Four hours later, you are in your rental car in Fresno headed to meetings. Sweet, hassle-free, and efficient. On the trip home, you wake up, meet with clients in Fresno until noon, depart FAT and an hour later, stop at Grass Valley/Nevada County Airport for early dinner with friends. Three hours later, you are pushing your GA plane back into the hangar in Eugene just as the sun sets. Sweet, hassle-free, and efficient. Try this kind of trip on the airlines, I dare you.

I must however close by saying this: While I fully recognize GA as the leader in business flying, the airlines do beat my Cherokee 235 on some missions. For a jaunt over to Kauai for a week of beachcombing or Vienna for galleries and the symphony, the nice comfortable A-380 kills the Katyliner every time.

But schedule a multi-stop business trip into a bunch of small airports all in the same day, and my GA ship will do what the airlines cannot. Yes, they can fly at FL380 and let people use a potty the size of a shoebox, but try to land a 737 on a municipal airstrip 3 minutes from a client's front door, and you will see...the GA advantage.